IMMIGRATION VIOLATION ARRESTS FALL

Marshals book more suspects in U.S. as enforcement upped

WASHINGTON 
The government says apprehensions of people for federal immigration violations dropped to the lowest level in 40 years, reflecting a decline in the northbound traffic of illegal immigrants from Mexico. At the same time, the number of suspects booked by the U.S. Marshals Service for criminal immigration offenses has gone up dramatically, a function of tougher law enforcement on the U.S. side of the border.

In a report released Wednesday, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics said immigration-related apprehensions have steadily declined, peaking at 1.8 million in 2000 but dropping to 516,992 in 2010 — the lowest level since 1972.

The San Diego Sector reported 68,565 apprehensions of undocumented immigrants in 2010, while the figure for the El Centro Sector was 32,562. Customs and Border Protection accounted for 90 percent of those apprehensions. According to the report, most of the immigration cases in 2010 were sent to the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for review. Of those cases, 51 percent involved accusations of illegal entry, 42 percent were for illegal re-entry, 5 percent were for people smuggling and 2 percent were for other reasons, such as misuse of a visa. A referral did not mean there was a prosecution.

The five southern federal judicial districts accounted for 88 percent of all referrals. Arizona had the biggest share with 32 percent, Texas Southern had 27 percent, Texas western had 17 percent, New Mexico had 6 percent and California southern — including San Diego and El Centro — had 5 percent.